GENERAL REPORT.

To the Honorable the General Assembly:

In behalf of the State Board of Health, the Secretary herewith. respectfully presents the Thirteenth Annual Report of the Board, as required by Chapter 85 of the Public Statutes.

The proceedings of the Board and the work reported are for the year ending December 31, 1890.

It is gratifying to be able to state, that the increasing recognition on the part of the intelligent public, of the necessity of employing proper measures for the preservation of health and the prevention of diseases, and especially of contagious, and infectious diseases, to which allusion was made in the previous report as having evident existence, is at this time still more evident.

It was then remarked substantially that the fact of the gradual progress and decided advance in the sanitary sentiments of the general public, had been shown by the action of the various town authorities in the enactment of sanitary ordinances, with increasing stringency and better enforcement from year to year; by the demands of the people for pure or good water, as shown by the frequent requests for the inspection of wells, public and private, and by the eager inquiries. as to the means of obtainment of good water by water works and otherwise; by the more universal demand for the abatement of nuisances believed to be prejudicial to health; by the more general practice in most of the compact localities, of the prompt removal of garbage and house refuse, and the earnest discussion of and experimentation for ascertaining the best methods of disposal; by the largely increased number who seek after and read the various sanitary publications of the day; by the greater attention paid to personal cleanliness, as shown by the larger purchase of and larger inquiry as to appliances for household ablutions; by the better appreciation of

the necessity of good ventilation; by greater attention to drainage and other methods of the disposal of household and other sewage, and by the more ready compliance with the requirement of the isolation of those sick with infectious and contagious diseases, and the disinfection of the excreta of the same, and of articles and premises connected with and in the near vicinity of the same.

PERSONNEL OF THE BOARD.

At the January Session of the General Assembly, the Senate approved of the appointment by Governor H. W. Ladd, of Alvin H. Eccleston, M. D., of Richmond, to the vacancy in the membership of the Board from Washington County, occasioned by the removal from the State of Herbert J. Pomroy, M. D., of Westerly.

The term of membership of Henry E. Turner, M. D., of Newport, member from Newport County, expired by limitation, June 30th, and Governor J. W. Davis appointed as his successor Peter Curley, M. D., of Newport, whose appointment was approved by the advice and consent of the Senate at the May Session of the General Assembly.

MEETINGS OF THE BOARD.

There were four regular meetings of the Board, and one special meeting called during the year.

A general outline only of the transactions at the different meetings will be given, the details of propositions, discussions, and reading of communications and other documents, largely omitted, as also names of parties, locations and circumstances connected with nuisances, and with other matters of inquiry and investigation.

At the first regular quarterly meeting, on Thursday, the 16th day of January, and adjournment to Friday, February 21st, the proceedings were in part as follows:

The usual routine business regarding the general affairs of the Board were first in order, and were fully considered and action taken thereon.

The Secretary then gave an account of his work during the previous. quarter and for the year 1889. As the year includes the quarter, an abridged outline will herein be given for the year. He had made sanitary inspections of the hotels and larger boarding houses in all the shore towns where such inspections were requested by the health

officers of the same, reports of which had been previously made to the Board. He had also visited several towns during the warm season, inspecting nuisances suspected of being dangerous to health, either in company with the health officer or alone, giving advice in relation to methods of abatement when necessary; had traversed numerous villages, large and small, in the State, inspecting the quality of the water in most general use, and the sources of supply; the drainage of the houses, and disposal of night soil and other organic filth. Suggestions as to urgently needed changes were made to individuals, corporations or town authorities, as the circumstances seemed to require. In most instances the suggestions were kindly received and in a large number were fully, or to a considerable extent, carried out. Circulars containing and explaining the amended law of the January Session of the General Assembly of 1889, in relation to the methods of procedure and the statement of facts in the returns of deaths, were written and sent to all the undertakers and town clerks in the State and to three hundred physicians, in such forms and with such text as were particularly applicable to the occupation and duties of each class.

The continued supply of other blanks to town and city clerks for monthly and annual returns of deaths, and of births and marriages; blanks for account of improvements of a sanitary character in the towns and new sanitary ordinances, had been promptly attended to; also those to physicians for monthly report of prevalent diseases, had been distributed monthly, and for physicians' returns of cause of death to town and city clerks, and for annual general returns; also to clergymen the blank certificates of marriage; and to undertakers the blanks for returns of death to town and city clerks, and blanks for undertaker's notice to physicians; also to health officers for annual returns of duties attended to and work accomplished.

Other circulars had been written and distributed to various town officials and other parties, having duties under the laws in relation to public health and the vital statistics of the State, reminding them of those duties, suggesting methods of performance and urging their prompt discharge.

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Distribution was made, when occasion called therefor, of the tracts for the Prevention of Typhoid Fever" and "Prevention of Scarlet Fever," the Manual" prepared for the use of health officers, the "Nomenclature" of diseases for the use of physicians, and the posters, "Treatment of the Drowned," when called for. In some of

the public schools, the rules of the latter are committed to memory by the senior class and recitations thereof given every week.

The 36th report on the vital statistics of the State had been prepared and would be issued from the press in a short time. It will be a volume of about 220 pages, will contain about 300,000 letters and 850,000 figures, requiring the use of about 1,500,000 figures in the preparation of the copy for the printer, or more than 5,000 figures a day for every working day in the year.

The publication of the Monthly Bulletin had been continued, for which the Secretary had written 94 notes, notices and articles, long and short; had prepared 12 summaries of deaths, with sex, parentage and ages; 24 pages of causes of deaths and number, with comments and percentages; and 24 pages of meteorological observations and summaries. Supervision was also given to printing, correcting proofs, addressing, wrapping, mailing and other methods of distribution of copies. The Monthly now reaches over 1,000 of the teachers in the public schools of the State.

There were 1,268 letters written by the Secretary during the year, about 150 of which were to parties in different States and countries, in reply to inquiries for various kinds of information.

The number of blanks necessarily sent out for returns and reports from different officials and professions, and at different times during the year, for purposes within the province and duties of the Board, exceeded 20,000.

The report upon "Tuberculosis among the neat-cattle in the State," and the preparation of the eleventh report of the Board, comprising 177 pages, including Tuberculosis, were among the duties and work of the Secretary during the year.

In the Cattle Commission department, the time of the Secretary had been occupied in the whole or in part of 168 different days during the year, in the investigation of cases of contagious or infectious diseases of horses, cattle and swine, or of animals suspected of having such diseases.

One hundred and fifty-six investigations, comprising 114 horses, were made because of suspected glanders or farcy. Some were isolated on suspicion and visited as occasion required, until confirmatory symptoms of glanders were developed, or otherwise were discharged. Of the 114 horses, 78 proved to be affected with the disease and were destroyed.

The Secretary had personally inspected 1,424 horses during the year, animals employed in nearly all the varied kinds of work.

Tuberculosis had been found in several herds of cows, and advice had been given in regard to the disposal of evidently infected animals and of those that had been exposed.

Three outbreaks only of suspected contagious diseases of swine were investigated during the year. In no one of these was contagiousness confirmed.

The oversight of the observing and detecting agencies of the Cattle Commission in the different towns in the State, had been under close supervision and frequent calls for reports. A record was shown, with the date, location, name of owner of the animal, disease investigated and disposal of each of the animals during the year. value of the horses and cattle in the State exceeds $5,000,000. After brief discussion of some sanitary legislation the Board adjourned sine die.

The

At the second quarterly meeting, held Thursday, April 17th, the various communications received and conferences held by the Secretary were variously considered and opinions expressed, after which the Secretary gave in outline an account in brief of other work during the preceding quarter.

A history of the bill which had been drafted by the Secretary and introduced in the General Assembly, for the purpose of an act, which was designed to greatly restrict or suppress the enormous sales of adulterated materials used in the preparation of human food, was given, including the hearing thereon and the failure of making a report by the committee of reference.

The bill was largely discussed, its probable efficacy considered, and its provisions approved.

The Monthly Bulletin had been regularly issued with the usual presentation of the general health of the State, the mortality and meteorological statistics, and varied sanitary articles.

Circulars, blanks, and notices to the various persons in occupations in the line of the work of the Secretary, and from whom returns, reports or correspondence was required by law or needful, had been promptly forwarded so that no break need occur in the performance of duties of those parties.

Three hundred and sixteen written communications had been forwarded as a part of the work of the office.

In the Cattle Commission department the Secretary had personally inspected 315 horses, had made 58 special investigations, and 35 horses had been found glandered and destroyed.